UNIVERSITY OF BOLOGNA, Ravenna Campus-School of Humanities and Cultural Heritage, Italy

With the financial support of the

Ministry of Culture of the Republic of MacedoniaSpecial Thematic Strand for 2015“BYZANTIUM AND THE HERITAGE OF EUROPE: CONNECTING THE CULTURES”

The International scientific symposium “Days of Justinian I” is an annual interdisciplinary scholarly forum aimed at the presentation of the latest research followed by discussions on various aspects of Byzantine and Medieval Studies, that include the treatment and interpretation of cultural, historical and spiritual heritage in contemporary Europe. The Symposium is dedicated to Emperor Justinian I with the aim to address a broad range of issues related to Byzantium and the European Middle Ages, comprising the exploration of the cultural and historical legacy as an integrative component of the diversities and commonalities of Unified Europe. This year the International Symposium “Days of Justinian I” chose a special thematic strand “Byzantium and the Heritage of Europe: Connecting the cultures”. Ever since the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottomans, Byzantium was constantly rediscovered and imagined. The invention of “Byzantinism” in Western European discourse in the eighteenth century, served to delimitate and separate “oriental”, “despotic” and “backward” Byzantium from the civilized Europe. This cultural bias in the Western academy and politicians led to the marginalization of Byzantine studies in the scholarly and political discourse in Western Europe.

Conversely Byzantium was and still being exploited in Balkans within the projected Slav-Greek struggle for historical and cultural legacy. Byzantium’s multiple reincarnations served different purposes and produced many misconceptions. However, the Real Byzantium was in constant contacts with different cultures and peoples in the wider region of Europe, Caucasus and the Muslim world. Accordingly the aim of the Symposium is to initiate scholarly debate to define Byzantium’s place in the cultural history and imagination, giving it the central role in the relationships between East and West, Christianity and Islam, Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, and the ancient and medieval world. Аdressing broader discussions and geographical areas in exploring various aspects of heritage, religion, ideology, identity, political and cultural memory, the Symposium will assess the core challenges of the contemporary scholarly discourse on Byzantium and Medieval Europe and its appropriation in the European history and culture.

Papers are welcomed on various topics that may include, but are not limited to the following areas of discussion:

Byzantium in the European civilizational concept

Medieval Europe and Byzantium: divisions and interactions

Byzantium and the West: Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy

Byzantium and the East: Christianity and Islam

Appropriation of the legacies of Byzantium and Medieval Europe

Byzantium and the Medieval Europe in the modern political discourse

Byzantium and the Medieval Europe: Politics, war, diplomacy

Byzantine missions: Spreading the word in Europe

Justinian and the European heritageProjecting the Medieval past in Modern Europe

Interpreting the Empires: The myth of the Third Rome

Representation of Byzantium in art, literature, music and material culture

Presentation of the papers will be limited to 10 minutes.Working languages: Macedonian and English.No participation fee is required.Travel and accommodation expenses are covered by the participants themselves.The full papers will be peer-reviewed by the International Scientific Committee.Papers delivered at the Symposium will be published in the Proceedings of the Symposium. For further inquires please contactthe Secretary of the Symposium

Petar Stevkovski: pstevkovski@gmail.com.

Please check the Euro-Balkan website: www.euba.edu.mk for news on the Symposium, the agenda, special events and the online application form.

Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Days-of-Justinian- I/260759300767845